


Ring of Fire

by gracioo_24, njostn



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: I wanna be a cowboy baby, M/M, Rodeo AU, What Have I Done, yeehaw
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:13:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27039280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gracioo_24/pseuds/gracioo_24, https://archiveofourown.org/users/njostn/pseuds/njostn
Summary: “S'cuse me.”He turned towards Neil at the sound, fixing him with dazed hazel eyes. The man looked Neil up and down quickly before a smile cracked across his face.“Hey Red,” he grinned. Neil felt his ears go pink at the name as he walked a pace closer to Neil to hear him over the roar of the crowd.“Uh, you dropped this,” Neil held out the hat towards him. The other man took it but lifted it to Neil’s head rather than his own.
Relationships: Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 3
Kudos: 30





	Ring of Fire

**Author's Note:**

> ( this is... i dont know in all honesty but hopefully tolerable - all credit goes to Tay they are the mastermind here and don't forget it ! yeah yeah peace and love yeah yeah )

Neil leaned his arms against the cold metal bars that would serve as the only thing between him and a two and a half thousand-pound raging animal.

In all honesty, he had as good an idea of how he had ended up there as anyone else. What was supposed to be a two-week ranchhand job had turned into a summer job, and not one he hated either. After his co-workers had been repeatedly asking him if he would be going, it had gotten annoying at the very least. He must have told himself fifty times on the ride there that he was only going because it would be more suspicious not to. 

He sucked in a deep breath, the thick midday heat settling across his back in the sun. The fenced-off area he stood against was empty, but the air buzzed with nervous anticipation from the crowd. Dust curled up from the packed dirt floor, visible under the harsh sunlight. Neil raised a hand to his brow to block the glare so he could get a good look out into the pen. From here he could see the hoofprints scuffed across the ground, stopping just shy of the iron fencing. 

"Excited?" Neil turned to see Allison nudging into a spot against the gate beside him. When he just shrugged, she shot him an incredulous look and turned back to Kevin. "Where did you even find this kid?" She laughed before observing their view of the ring. "Wow, Kev. Better question: how did you even get this area reserved? Impressive," Allison whistled. Kevin leaned against an old wooden post that stood parallel to the bars, sticking his thumbs through his belt loops.

"I know a guy. You aren’t the only one who knows people around here,” Kevin scowled. Based on the way he scanned the arena from under the brim of his hat, he was more interested in the upcoming ride than Allison’s comment.

Neil followed his gaze to the far side of the pen, where a series of loud metal clangs sent a wave of excitement through the crowd. One of the handlers stood in the metal scaffolding above the series of tall metal gates, guiding the animal through the chute. The audience pressed against the bars, whooping loudly as the first rider emerged. The loudspeaker called some name that Neil could barely hear over the crowd and the banging of metal. The bull was finally visible, only two gates away from being out into the arena. The rider expertly climbed down, dropping onto it's back before bracing himself. 

There was a moment of tense silence. In fact, it seemed the only one not holding their breath was the bull. Neil could have sworn he heard its heavy huffing from across the pen. Finally, the gate banged open, nearly making Neil flinch at the sound. The audience exploded in whoops and cheers as the bull lept out into the ring, tossing the cowboy around violently. He clung to the animal, one hand raised above his head and the other knotted in the short rope loop on the front of the saddle. The timer ticked away on a screen in the corner, only reaching 5.612 before the rider was thrown off. Neil winced as the man landed hard on the packed dirt, quickly scrambling out of the way.

The bull continued to buck around, so close to smashing down on the expelled rider that the man must have been able to feel the gust of wind from the movement on his face. The rider managed to avoid the animal's hooves with perfect precision, as though the whole thing was a carefully choreographed dance. The man bolted up and jogged away as casually as if he had just gotten out of his truck instead of being thrown off a bull. Neil let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding in.

The rest of the afternoon flew by in a blur. His mind reeled, trying to deduce any logical reason anyone would put their life at risk for nothing. Neil didn’t focus on the rounds too much, more focused on watching the people around him. 

If Neil had been paying any attention to the arena, he wouldn’t have noticed the black hat that fell near his feet. He glanced up at the back moving away from him into the crowd before snagging the hat from the ground. Neil stepped forward, tapping the man on the shoulder.

“S'cuse me.”

He turned towards Neil at the sound, fixing him with dazed hazel eyes. The man looked Neil up and down quickly before a smile cracked across his face. 

“Hey Red,” he grinned. Neil felt his ears go pink at the name as he walked a pace closer to Neil to hear him over the roar of the crowd. 

“Uh, you dropped this,” Neil held out the hat towards him. The other man took it but lifted it to Neil’s head rather than his own. 

“Why don’t you hold on to it for me,” he said. Neil opened his mouth to respond, but the loudspeaker blared loudly. 

“Alright everybody, we have had a great day here at Flint Hills, and just a few more riders to go! Introducing our next rider, Andrew Minyard!” The crowd erupted in cheers and screams and he glanced over to the metal rigging before looking back to Neil. 

“Well, that’s my cue to go. See ya 'round Red.” He winked at Neil before jogging over towards the pen.

Neil stood frozen for a moment, watching Andrew give the audience a quick wave and a charming grin before moving across the scaffolding. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, raising one hand to the hat on his head, not sure if it was actually there or if the whole interaction had been a heat dazed hallucination. When his fingers met the material, he just straightened it on his head and turned to watch Andrew.

He barely breathed as the announcer counted down, and then the gate flew open with a deafening bang. Andrew Minyard didn’t ride like the other riders had earlier that day. They all seemed to be fighting for control, desperately trying to stay atop the bull. But Andrew didn’t. It was like he moved with it, letting the animal move as it wanted and following its lead; instantaneous responses to the movements, completely harmonious. The timer ticked away in the corner of Neil’s vision, but he was far too focused on Andrew. 

Eight seconds felt more like eight years as the blonde somehow stayed upon the bucking bull as though it was the easiest thing in the world. Neil’s attention was broken by the sudden uproar, and he noticed that the timer had lit up green, frozen at “8.000.” 

Andrew had dismounted in that moment Neil had looked away. The loudspeaker called out what might have been congratulations, but was entirely unintelligible over the cheers. He turned towards the crowd and Neil felt his own gaze lock with his from across the arena, and even from that distance he could see that damned light flick across his eyes. Andrew shot a two-fingered salute towards him with a nod before easily pulling himself up over the metal bars and disappearing into the crowd, moving away to the stands. 

Neil didn't even notice his own hand raising to the hat, staring after Andrew in a daze until Kevin yanked his sleeve.


End file.
